The Devilish Duke Can't Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

Kahel, who was about to scour the streets of the commoners, felt the tremendous magic carried by the wind and hesitated for a moment, then took over the reins of the horse being pulled by the knight and hurriedly got on the horse.

‘I didn’t expect you to be working so early.’

It was much sooner than expected that Liddell summoned the monster. It was difficult to be sure that what Dashar and Luahalla had asked would be done on time.

However, since Duchy Luave and the Black faction nobles have been given orders to prepare for such a situation, each Knights Order will safely evacuate the people in Ardennes. But he was worried for Lena. He was afraid that the monsters would trample on the building where Lena was imprisoned.

Soon after, a strange shout of ‘kiieeekk’ rang out from far away.

The knights who were with him also stiffened their bodies and looked in the direction of the sound. It was still far away so they couldn’t see it, but everyone knew it wouldn’t take long for it to enter Ardennes.

“Your Excellency!”

Even if the knight didn’t call, Kahel was also turning his head. Finding Lena was important, but a magic this powerful as it stormed the capital, and as the Guardian of the Logos, he couldn’t ignore it.

Not long after the terrible screams began to sound north of Ardennes, loud bells began to ring throughout the capital. It was something most people had never heard of in their life, but everyone knew what it meant. It was a signal to evacuate immediately.

“It’s monsters! A horde of monsters has appeared!”

Someone shrieked as they passed Kahel and the knights escorting him. Kahel glanced at the entrance to the commoners street, which he was about to stop by, and then turned his head.

“Sir Meyer! Deploy the 1st and 2nd Knights to secure an evacuation route for the people. Sir Hert! Run to the palace with the 3rd Knights and protect Her Majesty with the Imperial Knights. Sir Zuke! Evacuate the vassals with Arder and inform Gerard that I am entrusting him with the leadership of the black faction.”

“Understood!”

The knights who received the order from him did not hesitate to respond to the sudden situation and gave a short answer, then all three drove their horses towards the Luave mansion. And Kahel, who was left alone, clenched the reins, thinking of Lena.

Even at this moment, he did not know where he should be going and what was going on, so he was worried as if his stomach was melting. However, before Kahel was Lena’s lover, he was the black wing that protected the Logos. He could not abandon his duty.

‘Lena…… Please stay safe until I find you…….’

Kahel clenched his teeth and spurred towards the North of Ardennes. The number of monsters that appeared this time would have to be enormous for this thick magic energy to overflow in the air. To be honest, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever win again.

‘With the help of the Santella family, the odds are high, but will they really move?’

Today, it seemed like it would be a chance to check if it was the Santella family that summoned the monsters. But he had been preparing for this day since he received Dashar’s letter. The five temples in Ardennes will try to purify the magic while he is blocking the monsters at the forefront. Even ordinary knights were able to deal with small monsters.

‘I should try to block it as much as possible.’

As the emergency bells from the North spread throughout Ardennes, Kahel ran in the opposite direction as the people were fleeing. Frightened by the magic that the monsters shed, the horse refused to advance to a place far north of the capital. In the end, he had no choice but to abandon his horse and run.

The monsters creeping out of the forest spread out in the northern part of the capital roared grotesquely, and it was difficult to determine their exact number because of the shadows of the forest. Fortunately, all the people around him ran away, so there was no problem for Kahel to use his magical powers, and since this year’s New Year’s Celebration, bloodstone street lamps were lit on the street and even if he fought until dark, the surroundings would be bright.

Then, he heard a voice calling out to Kahel from behind. It was his father, Damien, and Leonard, Duke Santella, who came.

“Are you coming directly from the palace?”

“Yes. All of a sudden, I don’t know what’s going on. It’s such a massive move…… Where did it come from?”

Kahel glanced at Leonard next to Damien. He had a face that didn’t seem to know anything, but Kahel remembered exactly the horde of monsters released right in front of the Sage’s Village.

“As it was at the Sage’s Village, this is not a coincidence or a natural phenomenon. Someone released it on purpose.”

“But how?”

“I don’t know how, but what effect does it have, the fact that we can’t think of a way? If this is a natural occurrence, how exactly were they pushed in from outside the capital? How do they know the capital boundaries? No, it cannot be spontaneous from that number.”

Kahel responded by shooting a magic spear towards the flying monster flying into the sky. The monsters stuck by the magic spear that flew out quickly fell and screamed a stinging scream. Even after killing a few menacing monsters in an instant, Kahel did not show any signs of exhaustion at all. Normally, this was nothing more than a light warm-up.

But in that moment, Leonard witnessed Kahel’s body change. He asked, trying to hold back the smile that was about to escape,

“Kahel…… your hand, what’s wrong?”

Then Damian, who was standing next to him, also noticed the change in Kahel. He let out a low groan and looked at Kahel’s hand. It was a look that he didn’t want to be found out, but since a monster appeared in the capital anyway, it wasn’t something he could hide from the Santella family.

“In addition to the devilish curse, Kahel was also afflicted with a curse that would cause his body to change if he used magic. But today, the mutation is too fast…….”

Then, Kahel looked at himself with both hands outstretched. His fingertips were getting sharper, with both hands already dyed black. He hadn’t raised his magic much yet, but it was definitely a quick change. At the same time as that thought, Kahel realized that his body mutation was about to be revealed in front of many people.

‘Shit.’

In the rear, special defense knights and general knights organized by the black faction nobles began to form. They will be surprised to see Kahel’s hands blackened and colored.

It was unknown why the body transformation is faster than before. It could be because of the increased tension and anger because Lena was gone, or it could have been influenced by Dashar undoing part of the curse.

In any case, it was not in a situation where he would save himself because he was afraid that people would find out. Even if he raised all his magical powers, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to defeat all of that huge swarm of monsters.

“Don’t be too surprised. It’s just a little too much to look at, because it’s actually better this way for hunting monsters.”

Kahel said sarcastically even though he was aware that Leonard’s gaze was sticking to him.

“Lian and Liddell seem to be taking their time.”

Kahel again used the magical energy that came out of his hand in the form of an arrow and shot it forward. Some of the monsters that were running with great force rolled over on the ground, and some of the monsters running after them fell over. However, the number of monsters rushing in was so large that it was nothing.

“Maybe they are attacking from the other side. We should stop those heading to the palace first.”

Damien raised his magic power and clicked his tongue. Leonard looked at him and raised his magic power, but while Kahel and Damian fired several small attacks, he never sent an attack. When Kahel looked at Leonard with a sharp gaze, it was only then that he pretended to put magical energy into his sword.

“Are you going to wait until the monsters arrive here? Well, isn’t it a bit wasteful to deal with the monsters you’ve been summoning for so long?”

“What, what? How could it be…… !”

He wanted to attack Kahel’s back, but the knights who had already gathered to support him must have been watching this. In addition, ordinary people who could not overcome their curiosity were also snooping from afar. To watch the Guardian family killing monsters, they couldn’t help but be curious.

“For now, if you want to protect the image of the Santella family, just pretend, Duke Santella.”

Kahel was annoyed. At the same time, black magic began to flow over Kahel’s body. When the magical powers of the families of the two Duchies are visualized, it usually appears purple, but Kahel’s magic was so thick and dark that its light is dark. And gradually his hands became large, black and ugly.

‘This will be the last time to be arrogant, Kahel.’

Leonard clicked his tongue as if he had no choice but to create a white magic spear and shoot it at his monsters. The magic spear freely changed its direction like a living snake and threaded several small monsters one after another. And the Guardians threw themselves at the running monsters.

Kahel also ran towards the four-legged beast-shaped monster that was running screaming and roaring, and grabbed the face with his completely monster-like hand and crumpled it. With his other hand, he was pulling the heart out of the chest of a medium-sized monster that was running next to it.

The black smoke that fluttered behind his back was split into dozens of strands and fell on numerous monsters. It was impossible to kill with a single blow because his magic was split into several branches, but it was enough to inflict a fatal wound. But at the cost of it, a little bit of sharp horns rose along his spine from his back, which had just been billowed in black smoke. It was the first time such a body transformation had occurred.

Damien, who was attacking monsters with Kahel, also noticed an abnormality in his son.

“This is so weird! Why is this mutation……!”

“Father. It’s expected.”

Despite the changes in his body, Kahel was rather calmer than Damien. Maybe, it was because he got the answer to the question he had been pondering for a long time.

‘As expected…… I’m a monster, too.’

An unusually large amount of magical power, the power that dazzles humans, and the body that turns black whenever he raises his magical power…….

Dashar said that his body had been put under a terrible curse, and that it could never be the power of any one person. Perhaps, this is a curse from God. No, maybe he, who was a monster, wasn’t separated from humans by God’s mistake…….

Kahel thought while tearing apart the monsters without much inspiration.

‘I don’t know if I’m rather lucky that Lena isn’t here.’

He’d rather just die than show her this. No, now that he knows he’s a monster, shouldn’t he get away from Lena?

But it was worse than dying. It’s okay to take everything else away, but he wanted Lena to be left to him. Well, that’s the story when Lena agrees, but…….

“Mo, mo, monster!”

A weak human voice could be heard in the midst of the roars of the monsters.